I'm trying to get you guys caught up with me. I've got one more chapter I'm gonna edit a little more and then it'll be up, and then we'll all be caught up with each other. I've been working on the latest chapter but it's really fighting me. Hell, I'm not even sure I like this one or the next one, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. This is what my head spit out, and other than a few changes that's what you guys are getting.

Enjoy.

The day Ian left, Jane walked into the bullpen after lunch with the biggest grin anyone had ever seen on her for a long time, even after Maura had come back. The few people in the room took note of the grin and the relaxed posture of the detective, but chose not to comment on it. And if they had, Jane ignored them.

"Guys, I'm skipping town this weekend and nothing short of Hell breaking loose is going to bring me down," Jane announced to her two partners, who weren't sure how to respond. "In fact, I think I'll leave an hour early today just to get ready."

That pulled Korsak out of his funk. "Who the hell are you, and where did you put Jane Rizzoli?"

"Seriously, man, you look like… like…"

"Whoa, who's got you in a good mood?" Frankie asked as he walked in, looking Jane over.

Jane shrugged, the grin never leaving her face as she got a glint in her eye. "Dr. Isles has very wonderful hands," she commented, causing jaws to drop at every turn. "I've never felt so relaxed in all my life." At the gawks, she added, "Come on, it was a massage! Sheesh, just because we sleep together doesn't mean we have sex, though I'm sure that we'd have amazing sex and you all are just jealous because she'll be doing it with me."

"Whoa, you and the Doc are together?" Frost asked. Before Jane could comment, he added, "Damn, I thought I was going to have to intervene and send her a flower with your name on it to get things rolling."

That made Jane pause. "What are you talking about?"

"You and the Doc," Frost said, watching as Jane's eyes narrowed a little more. "Jeez, Jane, it's been obvious from the day you set eyes on her that you've had a thing for her. I don't blame you, either. She is a fine looking woman."

"Yeah…" Jane agreed off-handedly as she thought about what Frost had said. "You really thought I'd had eyes for her since day one?" Frost nodded. "Well I'll be damned…"

"I must admit, if I didn't have some idea before I would've definitely thought you did after she left," Korsak added. "I've never seen you so messed up, and you've been through some shitty stuff."

Jane hummed and looked at her desk for a reason to go see Maura before just jumping up and going to the elevator. No one was going to stop her, she reminded herself, because if they really cared about her just up and going down to the morgue at various times during the day they'd have stopped her a thousand times before.

The elevator opened to the morgue and Jane sauntered into the office, surprising Maura as she fell onto the couch with a confident grin that she hadn't seen at that magnitude for a long time.

"To whom do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Maura asked, confused. "I doubt you're here without a reason. Are the guys giving you a hard time again? Or are you waiting for some test results? I'm pretty sure-"

"None of the above," Jane answered. "There isn't anything pressing for me to do right now, and I really just wanted to see you for the mere fact that I could."

Maura raised an eyebrow even as she smiled. "Well, you'll be seeing me in a few hours, as well as all weekend."

"Yes, but watching you work is fascinating. You make these really cute faces when you're concentrating really hard. Actually, you always make cute faces," Jane amended, pleased by the color on Maura's cheeks at the compliment.

"I suppose I should continue working," Maura said, clearly caught off guard and avoiding Jane's eyes as she looked down at her desk again, pen upraised. "I would hate for us to leave late because I hadn't finished my paperwork."

Jane watched for about ten minutes before getting up, catching Maura's attention even as she pretended to still be focused on paperwork, and she walked over to the desk. Turning the chair to command Maura's attention, Jane cupped her cheek and pressed their lips together for a brief kiss before pulling away with a wink and walking off.

"I'll be by your place at six like we planned," she commented before leaving the office, not seeing Maura's hand come up to touch her lips.

"She's…" Maura started, trying to come up with the end to that sentence to describe what she was feeling. "God, she's just so damn sexy."

"You've got that look on your face that says you've solved everything," Korsak said as Jane sat back down.

"Well, not everything," Jane said with a shrug, though the look stayed. "There are still a lot of things I need to work out. But, I feel better about a few things, a little more balanced, I guess."

"You wanna share with the class?" Frost asked, grinning like a fool.

Jane frowned as she considered what to say. "I'm still working on this whole… feelings thing. I mean, I'm crazy about Maura, you guys can attest to that, and I know she's just as crazy about me or she wouldn't have been putting up with my ass the last couple weeks."

"That's true," Korsak agreed. "So what are you gonna do?"

Jane shook her head. "I'm not sure. But I don't want to hold us back. If she were to leave me again, I don't think I'd come out of it."

"Sounds like you got some work to do, kid."

Jane nodded before turning to the work on her desk. "I'll say. I need to get this done in the next few hours, or I'll be leaving late tonight, and that just can't happen." That said, she hunkered down and got to work.

Maura had reserved a room in Portland, Maine for no other reason than it was a couple hours away and near the coast. It was chilly this time of year, so they weren't going to be able to swim but they could still enjoy the coast away from home.

The hotel suite wasn't very large but it was still spacious despite the amount of furniture. There was one queen sized bed, a dresser, a TV, a small sitting area with a couple chairs and a table in the main room and then the bathroom. Jane walked in, dropped her bag, and collapsed face first onto the bed.

"Jane, you really shouldn't do that," Maura scolded her. "Let's get changed for the evening and get some rest so that we can be up early tomorrow to enjoy the day together."

Jane turned her head to look at Maura. "And if I said I wanted to go for a stroll under the stars instead?" Maura turned to regard her curiously. "The sky is actually pretty clear tonight, and it's still pretty early even by your standards," she smirked, "unless you're that anxious to get me in bed already?"

"Jane…" Maura warned, though her smile and the amused shake of her head countered the tone. "I suppose a walk would be nice and relaxing after the day's work."

As they walked, Jane took notice of the places around the hotel to see if there was anything they might enjoy doing the next day. She picked out a place that looked nice for a light lunch, and noted that there was a candy shop that would undoubtedly carry fudge clusters next to it. As they explored the next block, Jane saw a very nice restaurant Maura would certainly enjoy but that she probably didn't pack the right clothes for and frowned. She hadn't planned all that well, it seemed.

"You're being awfully quiet," Maura commented when she saw Jane frown. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I was looking around, and then realized that there were a couple really nice places to go for dinner, and I didn't pack anything appropriate."

Maura leaned into Jane's side, wrapping around her arm. "I actually have a few places in mind that I'd like to try, and none of them require anything dressier than what you would normally wear to work. Even jeans would probably be acceptable." Jane shot her a glance and chuckled. "What?"

"You take care of me way too well, Maura," Jane said. "I'm not complaining, but it's kind of hard to think about how I'm going to match that by taking care of you."

"You do take care of me," Maura told her. "Just by being with me, you do more for me than many others have ever done. And you don't just grace me with your presence; you do things for me and with me. You've suffered through embarrassing dinners with me a time or two over the years, and I've managed to drag you to a few movies and stage performances that I know you'd never have gone to otherwise. You listen to me, though I know you'll never openly admit it."

"I don't understand any of it, though," Jane commented.

"You still listen, and I know you look up some things I've talked about. I've seen your search history when I've borrowed your computer in the past," Maura pointed out, emphasizing her tease with a bump with her hip.

Jane chuckled. "Okay, so yeah, I've tried to understand what you've talked about sometimes. I'll even admit to enjoying some of those documentaries you enjoy, though only to you and if the guys catch wind of it I'll deny it."

"I would be surprised if you didn't."

Jane pulled her arm from Maura's grasp to wrap it around her, pulling her against her side. "Well, regardless of how uneven this feels sometimes, because I swear you do more for me than I do for you, thanks for being here."

"I'm only sorry I wasn't here when you needed me the most," Maura commented sadly.

"Hey, don't be sorry about that. You said yourself that you were doing some… inner self-something and didn't feel ready to come back." Jane stopped moving and made Maura look at her. "I've forgiven you, you've forgiven me. We need to move forward sometime, Maura."

Maura smiled sadly. "It seems that I've overlooked the fact that I still have some things to forgive myself for." Jane nodded and pulled Maura into a quick hug before they started walking back to the hotel. "We'll be fine, won't we?"

"Yeah, I think so. I've got to believe we will, or I'll probably be back to hanging out with Jack Daniels every night." Maura nodded. "I'm thinking hot shower, because I'm kind of chilled now, and then some cuddling under the covers."

"That sounds like a great idea."